French River Provincial Park: Eastern Outlet - Paddling Through Exhilarating Views

French River Provincial Park 20526 Settler's Road Alban, ON P0M 1A0, Canada

View of the river after the rapids with with rugged rocks at French River Park, Ontario, Canada — View of the river after the rapids with with rugged rocks

French River Provincial Park is a destination defined by its historical significance, diverse landscapes, and cultural heritage. The park's iconic river served as a vital trade route for Indigenous peoples and fur traders, making it a place steeped in history.

Trip Report:

This was our very first paddling backcountry camping trip and our goal was to try to make it to Georgian Bay (spoiler: we didn’t make it). I didn’t do much planning for this trip - we essentially paddled until we couldn’t anymore.

Type
   
Backcountry

Toronto Drive
       
3.5 hours

Duration
     
2 nights

Site
     
627

Season
       
Summer (June 2021)

Day 1: Eastern Outlet

Dispatching from Hartley Bay, we ventured off with a rental canoe (and a foldable kayak: you’ll hear more about that experience soon) and made it down the Eastern Outlet towards Georgian Bay. Georgian Bay exhales, and it exhales hard! It was a challenging paddle, we were against headwind the entire time.

Camping Reservations: does not take reservations - first come first served! Camping permits are required for backcountry and can be purchased online up to two weeks in advance of your arrival date.

Canoe Routes Map: (here)

Canoe Rental: Hartley Bay Marina

Launch: Hartley Bay Marina

Paddling down the Eastern Outlet, French River, Ontario, Canada

Dalles Rapids

As we arrived to our first portage (310m), the day light was waning and we decided we were going to find the nearest available campsite at the other side. Thankfully the portage (although steep in some places) was short.

Arriving at Camp
Campsite #627: This was truly an amazing location! We were able to have our tents on a cliff that faced the river and had unobstructed views of the sky. Because we’re so close to the rapids, the sound does *roar the entire time so be aware. And the rocks are difficult to pitch a tent but overall this was a stellar spot.

Campsite #627 which has a view of the rapids, French River, Ontario, Canada

The biggest thing about this location is that it's *not as secluded as you think it is. One one side we get pristine views, but paddle just a bit south and you can see cottages and regular fishers early day (see last photo). Despite this, I would absolutely camp here again.

Camping meal time with Korean kimchi and porkbelly — Meal time with Korean kimchi and porkbelly

Day 2: Rest

We decided we didn’t want to move to another campsite so we stayed here for a full day. Looking back, the view of the French River still amazes me, and I’ll never forget the first scoop of water in my hands that I used to wash my face of yesterday’s exertion.

French River kayaking, and canoeing — Parking our canoe and kayak

A kalimba makes for a lightweight backcountry instrument to play music

Rehydrated some dried curry as a camp meal — W rehydrated some dried curry he had prepared for the trip with fresh naan, which keeps at room temperature really well in a breathable beeswax wrap

Spotting Wildlife

French River is home to wildlife including moose, White-Tailed deer, beachers, raptors (Bald Eagles, Osprey), loons and otters. We were lucky to catch a few sightings.

We explored the crevices (we saw mink fishing!)

We spotted a Bald Eagle fishing here. Can you spot its silhouette flying in the sky in this photo?

Day 3: Home

We packed up and embarked on retracing our steps back to Hartley Bay. Now about that foldable kayak … it was incredibly hard to paddle with the strong winds during our intial leg (as you would expect) but not impossible. The trick is to weigh it with gear. We had *tailwind on our way back so it performed nicely. The paddle home was fairly smooth in general  except for some turbulence here and there but we shaved nearly half the time.

Dalles Rapids: French River is a popular fishing spot and is home to largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, pike amongst others. — French River is a popular fishing spot and is home to largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, pike amongst others.

Final Thoughts

The French River still marks as one of my favourite trips of all time that this report doesn’t do it justice. There’s a majesty to seeing huge trees permanently side-swayed with the bay wind and an unexplainable feeling of smallness to seek gliding against the same wind these powerful beings couldn’t shake. For someone new, I would say don’t be afraid to stop earlier than you think - there are views to soak in at every corner and you’d be lucky to have access to such a historically important waterway.

For our camping gear list, click here.

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